Page 39 of Unexpected Love
She spins, sputtering. Water dripping from her face, and the entire front of her shirt soaked and plastered to her.
“Oh my god, that was epic,” Jackson howls. “You couldn’t be a more perfect height to take that shot right in the face.”
Kate glares as Leo wanders into the now blindingly bright kitchen, flipping a towel in her direction.
I stand in the corner and try to ignore the incredibly uncomfortable itch happening in my boxer briefs. I thought I was past the worst of the rash.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Leo grumps. “If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna have some damn rules.Rule number one: no middle-of-the-night pranks. We gotta sleep when we can. We’re not like you flame-eaters that can take naps any time we want to.”
There’s been the good-natured ribbing between the four of us all day, pranking each other, just having a damn good time. By the time dinner rolled around, in less than half a shift, we’ve bonded, and the two crews have nicknames. Jackson and I are the flame-eaters, and Kate and Leo are the needle-pushers. LT has rarely been at the station, and we’ve been a bunch of schoolkids who can’t behave.
And even though it’s late, and we should probably be packing it in and calling it a night, we’re still pranking each other.
Tones drop as the last word leaves his lips. A collective groan fills the room. “You jinxed us, Leo.” Jackson points at the older man. “Rule number two: don’t talk about sleep like it’s a given.”
Kate rushes to her bunkroom, stripping off her soaked shirt, while the rest of us rush to the bay. Jackson and I head to the engine and roll out as Kate bursts through the door, running to the ambulance.
A half hour later, the patient has refused medical transport, and we’re all on our way back to the station. Wide awake at two in the morning. And I am not thinking about the itch that I’ve been trying and failing to ignore.
I glance at my phone to make sure Jules hasn’t tried to contact me while we were out. No updates since she sent me a message letting me know Charlie was down for the night and she was turning in early. What I received from that message was a cleardon’t call me, I’ll call youdirective.
“What is wrong with you?” Jackson blurts with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been fidgety since we left thestation.”
I think I know what my problem is, but I am not about to admit it. “Nothing, man.”
“You got jock itch or something? You’ve been scratching your ass on that seat for the last five minutes.”
Guess I haven’t been as discreet as I thought. Fuck. Giving in, I wiggle in my seat, searching for relief.
“Jesus Christ. Do I need to stop and get you a corncob?”
“Shut up. Just get me back to the station.”
He pulls in, and I’m out the door in a flash. Straight to the john and shucking my pants. I turn every angle possible but can’t see well enough in the mirror. I pull out my phone and snap a picture right as the door bursts open and Leo strolls through.
He freezes mid-stride. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m trying to see why my ass is itching,” I admit. There is no modesty at this point.
“You were out with hand, foot and mouth, right?”
How does he know that? I swear, this department… nothing is sacred.
“Yeah. Picked it up from my niece.”
“Well, there’s your answer, dumbass.” His tone indicates that he’s enjoying this entirely too much.
Why in the fuck is this happening after I’ve already had the damn rash on my hands and feet? I should be in the clear, not getting worse. And now I’m exposing all of my partners, not to mention any patients, just by being in the same vicinity. “But the blisters were fading. I thought I was in the clear. Why are they popping up now?”
“What’s going on?” Jackson’s voice sounds from the hall. I glance up in time to see him and Leo both standing in the doorway, and Kate passing by in the hall.
“You guys are gross. I’m going to bed.”
“Me too, as soon as the butt scratcher gets done looking at his own asshole so I can hit the john,” Leo says.
He’s an older guy who grew up in this area. Family is all here, including his wife of thirty years and his grown kids. I can’t really get a read on the relationship between Kate and Leo, but I’m guessing they’re new partners like me and Jackson.
I hate that they’ve all been witness to my humiliation.
